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Tag: Baru

  • My scorecard, by Baru

    The immediate past Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr Maikanti Kacalla Baru, spent only three years in NNPC having been appointed to superintend the Corporation in July 2016 but from records, he would be leaving a landmark and guide for his successor, writes EMEKA UGWUANYI.

    On Monday, an elaborate valedictory was held for the immediate past Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr Maikanti Kacalla Baru.

    The event offered top oil and gas industry players, diplomatic corps, and others an opportunity to reel out Baru’s stewardship in the corporation.

    According to them, Baru from the onset was result-oriented and set out to achieve his objectives for the corporation.

    To reposition the NNPC and make its operations efficient, Baru, in September 2017, presented a 12 Business Focus Areas (BUFAs) on which he intended to institutionalise efficiency, profitability and growth in the Corporation.  The 12 BUFAs include ensuring security of NNPC assets, developing new business models, settling Joint Venture (JV) cash call arrears, boosting production and reserve growth, growing crude oil production of NNPC’s exploration and production arm – the Nigerian Petroleum Development (NPDC) and gas development, developing renewable energy, focusing on frontier exploration undertaking oil and gas infrastructure development, developing new ventures, common services;  and professionalism, accountability and staff welfare.

    Recalling efforts made to actualise these goals, Baru stated that Nigeria’s crude oil average daily production recorded an upward swing of about 2.06million barrels last year, translating to a 10.75 per cent increment, compared with the 2017 average daily production of 1.86million barrels. Pitched against the low-level average daily crude oil production of 1.2million barrels in 2016 when he came on board.

    “Nigeria has maintained a line of consistent year-on-year improvement. I make bold to say that the crude oil production increment was facilitated through the new business models we emplaced in NNPC’s old and new business entitles. Among the reengineered entities of the corporation that have made the difference are the NPDC, Nigerian Gas Company (NGC), Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC), Duke Oil, NIDAS and Integrated Data Services Limited (IDSL).

    “Indeed, NPDC was a major contributor to the industry’s success story in 2018, declaring 52 per cent daily crude oil production growth in 2018 compared with the company’s 2017 performance.  NPDC’s average production from the company’s operated assets alone grew from an average of 108,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd) in 2017 to 165,000bopd in 2018, a feat regarded as the strongest production growth within the oil industry in recent times.

    “The NPDC’s equity production share closed at over 207,000bopd, representing about 10 per cent of national daily production, was no less impressive. The company’s last average weekly production of 332,000 barrels per day makes the target of 500,000bopd for 2023 achievable. It is instructive to note that NPDC is now the largest supplier of gas to the domestic market, delivering over 700 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd) of gas to the Escravos-Lagos Pipeline System. These desired results were outcomes of initiatives emplaced by the management team under my purview. These initiatives include Asset Management Tea m (AMT) structure, Strategic Financing, Units Autonomy and security architecture framework.”

    He also noted the 200,000bopd crude oil addition by the Egina field which began production this year, adding that NNPC management under his watch saved $1.7billion from renegotiating Cash Call arrears of $6.8billion to $5.1billion with the corporation’s Joint Venture partners. The balance is scheduled for repayment over a five-year tenor plan. Already, the corporation has defrayed $1.5billion of the arrears.

    He assured that NNPC would stick to the repayment deal with the JV partners as it transitions to self-funding Incorporated Joint Venture (IJV) model with the corporation’s partners. To ensure the government doesn’t default cash call repayment agreement, the NNPC has increased commitment to invest in the oil and gas industry, which has boosted the corporation’s credit profile internationally.

    Other achievements include reduction in contracting cycle for upstream operations to nine months from an average of 24 months, with the corporation targeting a six months cycle, lowering of production cost, from $27 per barrel to $22 per barrel and improving on the security situation in the Niger Delta through constructive engagement and dialogue with relevant stakeholders.

    Also, the NNPC has renewed focus on frontier basins leading to spud-in of Kolmani River-II Well on February 2, this year. Drilling on the well is nearing 10,000ft mark, even as the NNPC Frontier Exploration Services, the Division that superintends the inland basins exploration, recently moved to the Upstream Division of the corporation to afford it more visibility and empowerment to execute its mandate. The corporation also noted that activities were expected to resume in the Chad Basin as soon as there was green light on the security situation in the region.

    In the midstream sector, NNPC has helped in increasing average national daily gas production.  Last year, gas production was 7.90 billion standard cubic feet (bscf) as against 7.67bscf. Of the 7.90bscf produced in 2018, an average of 3.32bscfd (42 per cent) was supplied to the export market, 2.5bscfd (32 per cent) for reinjection/fuel gas, 1.3bscfd (16 per cent) was supplied to the domestic market and about 783mmscfd (10 per cent) was flared.

    Domestic gas supply capacity was marginally stable at about 1700mmscfd with an average of 1.3bscfd supplied to the domestic market due to power evacuation challenges caused by frequency management, following rejection of allocated load by distribution companies (DisCos) as well as transmission line constraints.  Of the 1.3bscfd supplied to the domestic market, an average of 71mmscfd went to the power sector, 470mmscfd supplied to the industries and the balance of 69mmscf delivered to the West African market through the West African Gas Pipeline (WAGP).

    Baru stated that NNPC is expected to bridge the medium-term domestic gas supply deficit by 2020 through the corporation’s Seven Critical Gas Development Projects (7CGDPS). A reputable project management consulting firm is collaborating with an NNPC team to achieve accelerated implementation of the 7CGDPS.  The full implementation of the project would boost domestic gas supply from about 1.5bscfd to 5bscfd by 2020, with a corresponding 500 per cent increase in power generation and stimulation of gas-based industrialisation, he added.

    According to data, the power plants in the country have a permanent gas supply pipeline infrastructure and NNPC is committed to continue to expand and integrate its gas pipeline network system to meet increasing domestic gas demand.  Key gas pipeline infrastructure projects on which significant progress had been made include Escravos-Lagos Pipeline System (ELPS II), Obiafu/Obrikom-Oben (OB3), Odidi-Warri Expansion Pipeline (OWEP), Trans Nigeria Pipeline Project (TNGP), Ajaokuta-Kaduan-Kano (AKK) Pipeline, Trans Nigeria Pipeline Project (TNGP) and Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline (NGMP) Project.

    In the refinery sub-sector, Baru said the NNPC is committed to the rehabilitation of the nation’s three refineries in Port Harcourt, Kaduna and Warri, to boost their capacity utilisation. In March, the first phase of the rehabilitation of the 210,000 barrels per day capacity Port Harcourt Refinery complex that comprises the 60,000 barrels per day built in 1965 and the 150,000 barrels per day, new refinery, was kick-started. The project is being executed by Milan-based Maire Tecnimont S.p.A, in collaboration with its Nigerian affiliate, Tecnimont Nigeria. At the end of the phase one, the Refinery complex should reach 60 per cent capacity utilisation. This first phase of the rehabilitation contract, which would run for six months would involve detailed integrity check and equipment inspection of the beginning from end of March, this year.

    The integrity test comes as a forerunner to the second phase of the rehabilitation project, which entails a comprehensive revamp of the complex aimed at restoring the refinery to a minimum of 90 per cent capacity utilisation.

    Subject to the successful completion of the integrity checks, Phase two of the project would be executed on Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) by Tecnimont, in collaboration with the original builders of the plant, JGC of Japan. The rehabilitation of the other two refineries in Kaduna and Warri is expected to follow.

    Baru noted that in the downstream sector, though early last year was riddled with some supply shortages, the corporation rose to the occasion with the support of President Muhammadu Buhari and the resilience and hard work of NNPC staff to keep the country wet soon after till date.

    So far, many of the corporation’s depots had been resuscitated and put into use through decanting of over 140 million litres of PMS (petrol) nationwide with the rehabilitated systems 2B and 2E pipelines supplying petroleum products to Southwest, Southsouth and Southeast regions.

    “NNPC is on track in respect of the corporation’s 12 key Business Focus Areas (BUFAs), and the vision of President Buhari to improve the status of oil and gas infrastructure through ensuring products availability to support national economic recovery and growth. The corporation will continue to plan for a better performance and achievement in 2019, especially with the continuous innovations and creativity in the downstream sector and the performance bond signed by all the relevant heads of the corporation’s operating units recently. Continuous improvement, a major plank of a world-class organisation, would remain NNPC’s key word in 2019, I assure you that our 2019 performance would dwarf the 2018’s,’’ Baru added.

  • Baru praises Shell on deepwater operation

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Group Managing Director, Dr. Maikanti Baru, has praised Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo), the deepwater arm of Shell Companies in Nigeria, for pioneering the deepwater sector of the Nigerian oil and gas industry.

    NNPC is the senior partner of Shell Joint Ventures in Nigeria and represents the Federal Government in other operations, including deepwater.

    Baru described SNEPCo as a clear leader in deepwater whose performance is exemplary. “SNEPCo is a trail blazer. They set the pace with the Bonga floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO), being the first deep water exploration business in Nigeria,” Baru said while recieving ‘In pursuit of Excellence’, a SNEPCo publication, detailing the company’s entry into the offshore exploration in the Gulf of Guinea and how the venture has brought so much benefit to Nigeria. It also entails the development Nigerians’ local capacity and the growth of support industry, among others.

    SNEPCo Managing Director, Bayo Ojulari, who presented the 90-page book to NNPC leadership in Abuja, said the company was mindful of its pioneering role in deep-water exploration in Nigeria and would want others to learn from Shell group technical expertise to make Nigeria a leading oil and gas producing country.

    “We have documented lots of our efforts, which opened up Nigeria’s deep water and have contributed largely to the country’s oil revenue,” said Ojulari, who restated SNEPCo’s continued commitment to positive impact on Nigeria’s economy and the socio-economic welfare of the people through sustained social investments in education, health and sports.

    The company, with over 95 percent Nigerians as members of  staff, has helped to create the first generation of Nigerian deep-water oil and gas engineers and recently celebrated the 800-million-barrel mark in 13 years of operations.

    In recognition of its pioneering initiatives in Nigeria, SNEPCo was in early 2018 honoured as the best Nigerian oil and gas company in technology and innovation at the maiden edition of the Nigerian International Petroleum Summit (NIPS) held in Abuja for pioneering in-country Subsea Tree Refurbishment, a remarkable feat in local capacity potential, which resulted in significant savings. This was the first time in the Nigerian oil and gas industry that a Subsea Tree was fully stripped down and refurbished locally with all its original functionality restored.

    The FPSO vessel’s capacity was upgraded in recent years, allowing SNEPCo to expand the field with further drilling of wells in Bonga Phases 2 and 3 and through a subsea tie-back that unlocked the nearby Bonga North West field.

    SNEPCo is the operator of oil mining lease (OML) 118 under a production sharing contract with NNPC. The co-venture partners in OML 118 are Total E & P Nigerian Limited, Nigerian Agip Exploration Limited and Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria (Deepwater) Limited.

  • Baru urges patronage of NNPC shipping firm

    The Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Baru,  has advised partners involved in the Direct Sale Direct Purchase (DSDP) scheme of the corporation to patronise NNPC shipping subsidiary, NIDAS, to ensure profitability.

    He gave the advice to the two relevant subsidiaries: Crude Oil Marketing Division (COMD) and the NNPC Trading Ltd, during his visit to the NNPC Office in Hammersmith, London, where he met with the workers of both the London Office and NIDAS.

    DSDP is a scheme through which NNPC sells crude oil directly to off-shore refiners and receive products from same in return.

    A statement explained that Baru was elated by the giant profitability strides recorded by NNPC/NIDAS after it launched into international freight business.

    He said: “I wish to commend NIDAS for beginning to make money for the NNPC.

     

    I am particularly elated with the company’s performance which has seen it doing 15 voyages on clean petroleum products from October 2018, just four months after it resumed international freight business.”

    He urged them to redouble their efforts towards sustaining the current tempo which he said, was in line with the profitability drive of the corporation.

    NIDAS Ltd Managing Director, Mr. Lawal Sade, who spoke during the visit of the GMD, lauded Dr Baru for his support and efforts in revamping the company which he said, prior to the GMD’s assumption of office, had been moribund.

    “Our recent modest successes wouldn’t have been possible without Dr. Baru’s support. We are truly inspired by this visit and we are ever ready to achieve the targets set for us by the NNPC Management,” he said.

    He said the company would work harder to sustain the tempo by engaging and soliciting the support of sister NNPC’s outfits and international partners towards improving the corporation’s bottom-line.

    Sade told the GMD that NIDAS had already signed Contract of Affreightment (COA) with BP and Socar for their DSDP clean cargoes, while discussions with Vitol, Mercuria and Petrocam are ongoing.

    According to the MD, NIDAS has gradually started to find a good footing from the vessel fixing of last month as they were able to fix vessels below its competitors’ rate, which made some companies particularly Oando to come to NIDAS for a spot charter.

    He observed that they were in the process of deploying IT facilities and software that will enable them monitor their ships on the high seas.

    Established in 2007, NNPC/NIDAS is a fully-owned subsidiary of NNPC charged with the mandate of shipping clean petroleum products into Nigeria and West Africa.

     

  • Baru directs NNPC retail to secure 30% market share

    The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Baru, has directed the Corporation Downstream company, NNPC Retail, to increase its current 14 per cent market share to 30 per cent by 2020.

    Speaking yesterday  in Abuja during the first Triennial Delegates Conference of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), NNPC Retail Branch, Dr. Baru said the directive was an assignment that must be accomplished.

    A release by NNPC Group General Manager, Public Affairs, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, said the GMD, spoke at the event, adding he said the NNPC management would soon expand the operations of NNPC Retail Limited.

    Baru stated that NNPC was determined to ensure that the prevailing availability of petroleum products across the country was sustained. He said arrangements have reached advanced stage to acquire more landed property in Abuja and across the states to build more NNPC retail outlets.

    Speaking as Chairman of the occasion,  former Group Managing Director of NNPC, Dr. Jackson Gaius-Obaseki, described the state-run oil firm as an accountable and transparent going concern, saying nothing should deter it from sustaining its core values.

    The former NNPC chief stated that the current management of the corporation deserved commendation for public accountability, pitched against its periodic and prompt reporting of the company’s operations and financial transactions.

    Dr. Gaius-Obaseki, who is also the Chairman of Brass LNG, listed the NNPC core values to include transparency, integrity and accountability which he explained must be reflected in all the company’s dealings with its stakeholders across the Industry value chain.

    “The current NNPC top management led by Dr.  Baru, must be commended for updating the books of NNPC business units. This is reflective of what used to be. This must be sustained as NNPC business performance should be reported as stipulated in enabling laws,” he said.

    Dr. Gaius-Obaseki stated that the decision to establish the NNPC Retail in 2002 had yielded result with the NNPC Mega stations across the country servicing the petroleum needs of the people, noting that unlike the situation in the past, Nigerians now enjoy fuel availability through the effort of the NNPC Retail Limited.

    He urged the union to be focused in their relationship with management to enable both parties work efficiently for the benefit of Nigerians.

    “Unionism must move away from strikes and protest to developmental focus.  We must move away from being a combative group as a union but be forward looking and join management in the development of business,” he stated.

     

     

  • Kachukwu, Baru, score NCDMB high on Content Act

    Stakeholders in the oil and gas industry yesterday scored the Simbi Wabote-led Nigerian Content Development Monitoring Board (NCDMB) high on its implementation of the Content Act.

    Among the dignitaries, who gave the commendations, were the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachukwu and the Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Baru.

    Speaking at the 8th edition of the Practical Nigerian Content Conference titled: “Nigerian Content: Driving Economic Development and Stability”, in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, Kachukwu said the board added great value to the country’s hydrocarbon resources.

    He described as commendable the board’s support to investors seeking to establish modular refineries in the country.

    Represented by the Permanent Secretary in his ministry, Dr. Folashade Yemi-Esan, the minister said the conference provided a veritable platform for industry stakeholders to assess the achievements and challenges of the Nigerian Content Act.

    Also speaking, Baru said the proper implementation of the Content Act moved the 2010 in-country capacity for line pipes from 100,000 metric tons to 420,000 metric tons.

    He said the improvement represented significant increase from 10 per cent of annual Industry demand to 40 per cent industry demand.

    Also, Wabote told the stakeholders that the board was currently implementing a 10-year strategic roadmap to increase local content in the industry.

  • Baru chairs Red Star Express

    Former Deputy Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Alhaji Suleiman Baru, has been appointed as the chairman of the board of directors of Red Star Express Plc. Baru succeeded Dr Mohammed Koguna, who retired after leading the board for 26 years.

    At a brief handover ceremony, Baru reiterated his commitment to take the company forward.

    He commended the Koguna, describing him as an elder statesman whose unique ways of doing things had impacted on the fortunes of companies he chaired, including Red Star Express.

    Group Managing Director, Red Star Express Plc, Mr Sola Obabori, said the company believed in the ability of the new chairman to further improve its performance given Baru’s wealth of experience.

    He noted that under Koguna’s leadership, the company grew from the scratch and has a turnover that is more than N8 billion now.

    “We have continually had an increase profit recorded each year preceding the penultimate. We hope to have better times ahead while giving the best to our customers,” Obabori.

     

     

     

  • Reps summon Baru, others over N91tr oil contracts

    The House of Representative has summoned the Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Maikanti Baru over a possible loss of N91 trillion by the country due to alleged “shady” oil exploration contracts, it emerged yesterday.

    Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream) Chairman, Joseph Akinlaja during an investigative hearing on the matter as mandated by the House in June, expressed disappointment with NNPC and other companies in the oil sector  for shunning the public hearing.

    Akinlaja said: “The NNPC has Mahart Petroleum and Alkhairi Oil acting on behalf of NNPC and we are told that Nigeria is shortchanged to the tune of N91 trillion.

    “That NNPC has agents that deal with this investigation, Mahart Petroleum and Alkeri Oil, both working on behalf of NNPC, but we all know that NNPC is the supervisory agency of oil business in Nigeria, they alleged that Nigeria is shortchanged to the tune of N91 trillion.

    “But all these allegations cannot be proven if all the  stakeholders are not complete before this panel. Therefore, we have gotten a letter from NNPC asking for another date to appear.

    “We have also got representation from Duke Oil asking for another date because we invited them too.

    “We have not heard from Alkhairi Oil, we have not heard from Mahart Petroleum, so we are using this medium to inform Nigerians that the Managing Director of Mahart Oil and Alkhairi Oil should appear before this Committee here on a date that will be communicated to them, and failure to do so, we will use our constitutional right to compel their appearance, because Nigeria needs every kobo for the economic development of this country.

    “And for the National Assembly and the House of Representatives to have passed a resolution to investigate the allegation, I do not think it behoves on anybody to refuse to appear before the committee if they have a good case.

    “Therefore the date forA and M to appear at the next hearing will be communicated to them.

    “For Duke Oil that has made representation and the Managing Director of of NNPC that had contacted us, we will contact them for another date that they should also appear, so that Nigerians will know the truth because when we  heard the figure too, we were baffled that the amount that is more than enough for more than 12 year budget of Nigeria, is being taunted, but whatever it is an allegation is an allegation.”

    The petitioners, in their submission by Bola Aidi, who led a consortium of law firms to the  hearing, said a comprehensive investigation into the activities of NNPC in the past two years was done, saying that the country deserved accountability and transparency from NNPC. Aidi noted that it is most important for the country to  recover the funds.

    He said: “We are the ones that brought the petition asking this august House to investigate what is likely to be the missing fund in the accounts of the NNPC.

  • Baru hails oil workers for stopping planned strike

    The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Baru, praised the leaderships of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association (PENGASSAN) for their roles in the prompt resolution of the recently averted planned industrial action.

    He gave the commendation at the 4th Quadrennial Delegates’ Conference of the NUPENG/NNPC Group Executive Council in Abuja.

    A statement by NNPC spokesman Ndu Ughamadu quoted Baru as saying both unions demonstrated uncommon commitment to the vision of the NNPC management of ensuring steady and uninterrupted supply of petroleum products across the country.

    ‘’I wish to register my appreciation to the present executives of NUPENG, together with PENGASSAN; you have collectively created an atmosphere of industrial harmony in NNPC and by extension, the entire oil and gas industry.

    “You have shown great understanding at the critical moments in the course of our operations. I thank you for the cordial relationship that has defined our association”, he said.

    Earlier in his speech, the NUPENG National President, Prince Williams Akporeha, said the union had embarked on a number of reforms geared towards rebranding itself for efficiency.

  • Baru urges NNPC, oil service firms to go global

    THE Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and indigenous oil services firms should extend their operations to other petroleum industries across the world.

    NNPC Group Managing Director (GMD) Dr Maikanti Baru has said.

    Baru who spoke while opening the Nigerian Pavilion at the ongoing Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston, Texas, USA, said the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) and Integrated Data Services Limited (IDSL), were being positioned for international operations. These strategies are part of the ongoing transformations in the Corporation. “We don’t want the NNPC just to be a national company but also the energy company of the future that will acquire oil fields and make inroads into new frontier basins in sub-Saharan and other petroleum climes across the globe,” he said.

    To the oil services firms under the umbrella of Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN), which coordinates Nigerian delegation and pavilion at the OTC, Baru said they should look beyond Nigeria. According to him, some of the indigenous oil services have taken their operations to Norway, Ghana, Uganda and Mozambique; among others but a chunk of the firms’ operation still revolve around Nigeria. He advised such firms to emulate their peers and extend their services overseas.

    Baru said: “The NNPC has perfected strategies to become the energy company of the future by making inroads into new frontiers and acquiring oil blocks in the sub-Saharan Africa and globally. I also urge oil service providers to go out and look for more partners and better technology to excel especially in areas they consider difficult.

    “We have Nigerian companies that are manufacturing high-tech equipment including pigs used for the inspection of pipelines being exported to far away Norway. “We also have Nigerian companies working in the most difficult terrain, in deepwater operations ranging from over 1000 meters. Nigerian companies should also emulate some of the counterparts that are diversifying into the full oil and gas value chain, from seismic, exploration to distribution.”

    On the OTC that attained 50 years this year, he said indigenous firms have been able to grow capacity over the years as they now compete favourably with some of their counterpart in various field of the oil and gas industry.

    Unlike in the 1990s when attendance was more of a jamboree, Nigerian firms have acquired capacities, new technologies, got partners and extending services to the world, he said.

    According to him, OTC has been concentrating its activities around Houston and that it will continue to serve as a focal point for bringing different people with different ideas and services together. He added that this year’s exhibitions by Nigerian companies marks a great improvement not just in terms of quality but in the number of companies that are giving service in the Nigeria oil and gas industry.

     

  • Baru lauds Nigerian Academy of Engineering

    The Group Managing Director (GMD), Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Baru has commended the Nigerian Academy of Engineering for its leadership and promotion of policies that led to the general advancement and promotion of excellence in science, engineering, technology and innovation.

    Dr. Baru spoke in Lagos yesterday at the induction ceremony of Group Managing Director of Arco Group, Mr. Alfred Okoigun as Fellow of the Academy. He said in the over two decades of its existence, the Academy has proven to be the national ‘Think Tank’ for engineering and technology, adding that NNPC was proud to be associated with the Academy.

    He described the honour bestowed on Mr. Okoigun as a testament to his distinguished leadership, contributions to the engineering profession, outstanding achievements and exceptional character as well as his contributions to the well-being of the society at large.

    Dr. Baru said NNPC will continue to support Arco Group and other indigenous companies so that their stories would continue to be sweet.

    In her welcome address, the President of the Academy, Engr. Mrs Joanna Maduka said it is the responsibility of the Academy to ensure the advancement of engineering education and practice throughout the engineering family.

    She said: ”This is achievable through continuous learning, advocacy and strategic collaboration with relevant professional associations and industry. The goal remains the significant improvement of the lives of our people and the state of our society, nation and humanity as a whole.”

    She said part of the roles of the Academy is to facilitate information dissemination and exchange of ideas among members and other professionals; act as advisers to both the government and private sector operators on engineering, technology and other related matters.

    Explaining the import of the induction of Mr. Okoigun, she said only a total of four persons have been so honoured in a period of 21 years of the Academy’s existence.

    She said: “Those who had earned the honour in the past had demonstrated that they understood the role of engineering education and profession in the development of any nation and they had devoted their time, energy and goodwill towards the promotion of both in real terms in our country.”

    She praised Mr. Okoigun for facilitating the establishment of the Nigerian Academy of Engineering and Arco Group Academia and Industry Linkage which will be devoted to finding engineering innovations that can be patented and attract funding for commercial scale production.

    Responding, Mr. Okoigun traced his interest in science, engineering and technology from his tender age as a secondary school student then in the early 70s. He said having realised that no nation could develop without paying serious attention to the three catalysts of growth and development, he decided to study engineering, set up an engineering based business and use part of his company’s resources to promote education in those fields as well as the professions attached to them.

    Mr. Okoigun said the honour that has been bestowed on him is a challenge to intensify his efforts of raising awareness on the imperative of giving science, engineering and technology their pride of place as desirable fields of study and as the pillars of the country’s development.

     

     

     

    As part of the occasion, the former Vice-Chancellor, University of Lagos and Federal University, Ndufu-Alike Ikwo, Ebonyi State, Prof Oyewusi Ibidapo-Obe, delivered a lecture on “Engineering Innovation and Last Mile Development: Towards a Synergy between Investors and Research.” He observed that while inventors take a long term view of their research works, the investors’ expectation is to earn quick returns from their investments in inventions. He called for an intervention agency that can manage properly, the relationship between inventors and investors so that researchers and investors can work harmoniously to resolve these divergent positions.

    He said: “Nothing gets invented until it is in the market. Laboratory research is not enough. Innovations must be taken to investors.”